Lonely Soul
by moonlite1serenade
Summary: Laine and her partner Dallas stumble upon a little girl, and their lives change drastically. They meet an interesting group of people, and one in particular gets under Laine's skin. Please R/R! Summary sucks Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**Lonely Soul**

_The lights are on, but you're not home_

_Your mind is not your own…_

* * *

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

* * *

Laine frowned at Dallas as he drove down the highway. Dallas had wanted to stay on the main road, whereas Laine had wanted to take back roads, thinking they'd be less likely to run into any walkers. Dallas slowed the jeep down to a stop as they stared at the pile up of cars.

Dallas sensed Laine looking at him and sighed. He looked over at her. "What, girl? You gonna say 'I told ya so'?" Laine smirked and hopped out of the jeep. "Where ya goin, girl?"

Laine nodded towards the cars. "Gonna take a look at what mess you've gotten us into." She heard Dallas snort as he stepped out of the car. She continued on down the road when she heard something. She held out a hand to Dallas, who stopped in his tracks. She slowly pulled out on of the two machetes she had attached to her belt and slowly made her way towards the noise. Dallas covered her back, pulling out his hunting knife and ducking behind the nearest car. Laine crouched behind the car next to wear she heard the noise. She motioned back at Dallas, and in one swift motion, jumped out from behind the car, machete raised high. Laine stopped in her tracks.

"Laine? Girl what is it?" Dallas whispered.

Laine brought her machete down slowly. In front of her stood a little girl, no older than 13, drinking a bottle of water. Next to her was a car that had other food supplies on it, along with a note that said "Stay Here Sophia. We Will Come Back Everyday." Laine looked at girl again, narrowing her eyes.

She felt Dallas come up behind her. "Well I'll be damned. It's just a little girl." He looked at the car. "Who's Sophia?"

The girl looked between the two with wide eyes, frozen in place. "I-I am." She said quietly.

Laine looked back at Dallas. He just shrugged. "Has anyone come for ya yet?" He asked.

Sophia shook her head. "No, I've been here for 2 days, but my momma's not come yet."

Laine frowned. Dallas walked up the girl and knelt down to her level. "Well then, we aint gonna leave ya here all alone by yerself. So miss Laine and I will stay with ya til your momma comes looking for ya. What ya say?"

Sophia looked between the 2 cautiously, then nodded slowly. Dallas grinned. "Good, my name's Dallas by the way. And like I said, this is Laine." Sophia nodded, smiling shyly.

Laine nodded at the little girl, putting her machete back into her belt. "I'm gonna take a look around, do a perimeter check." She said quickly. Dallas nodded and started talking with the little girl.

Laine walked around for a while, looking in and under all the cars. After a while, she came to the conclusion that nothing was out of the ordinary. She jumped up onto the hood of the nearest car. With the hot sun beating down on her, she stripped her brown leather jacket off, using it as a pillow, and pulled her honey colored hair back into a braid. She closed her eyes and sighed. It took only a few minutes until she could feel sweat soaking into her cream tank top.

Just as Laine was finally starting to relax, she heard a slight noise coming from in front of her. Her body tensed, and she shifted, making her hands closer to the machetes at her hips. When the noise sounded like it was right on top of her, her eyes snapped open and she pulled out both machetes, leaping off the hood of the car and onto the ground quick as lightening. In front of her stood 3 men, staring at her with wide eyes, weapons drawn.. Laine glared at them, breathing hard.

"Hey girl, I think there's enough food back there to-" Dallas stopped mid stride, looking between Laine and the 3 men. _Oh shit_, Dallas thought. "Hey now boys, we don't mean no harm, we was just passing through." He eyed Laine warily, then looked back at the 3 men. "Now, go on and put your weapons down."

One of the men, the one with the cross bow, snorted. "We aint puttin our weapons down til this little bitch puts hers down." One of the other men, the one with curly hair and 5 o'clock shadow, gave the man with the cross bow a look.

Dallas winced, and Laine's glare turned vicious, and her mouth twisted into a hard grimace. Dallas thought of the phrase if looks could kill, then that man would surly be dead on the ground right then. He slowly walked up to Laine, standing in front of her. "Girl? Hey, its yer ol' pal Dallas. Look at me, girl. These are different men. These aint those men from before. Hey!" Dallas gave Laine a hard shake, and she finally looked away from the men and up at Dallas. "Listen to me, Laine. These aren't the same men. These men aren't gonna hurt ya, but they might if ya don't put yer knives away. Ya hear me, girl?" Laine slowly loosened up, and the 2 machetes fell from her grasp, falling onto the road, the sound ringing out into the tense silence.

The other 3 men saw someone else coming towards them, and they all looked at the little girl with wide eyes. "Sophia?" The one with the curly hair called out. Sophia smiled and ran up to the 3 men. They all smiled down at her, happy they had finally found her.

Sophia turned towards Dallas and Laine. "Dallas?"

Dallas turned towards the girl, letting go of Laine, who quickly walked away from the others, back to their jeep. Dallas looked in the direction Laine had gone and sighed, then turned back towards the little girl. Sophia looked up at Dallas. "Is she gonna be ok?" Dallas stood and ran a hand over his face. "Yea, darlin. She'll be fine."

The man with the curly hair stepped up to Dallas, holding out his hand. "Thank you for watching out for Sophia."

Dallas nodded, taking his hand. "Yer welcome…"

"Rick Grimes. And that there is Daryl Dixon and T-Dog."

Dallas nodded at the other 2 men. "What the girls' name?" Rick asked.

"Laine." They all turned to see the girl bending down to pick up her machetes and taking her jacket off the hood of the car.

"What's your damned problem, Laine?" Daryl asked.

Dallas frowned. "That's none o' yer damned business."

Laine looked at Dallas, then over at Daryl. She tucked her machetes into her belt and put her leather jacket back on. Face void of any emotion, she nodded at the men. "We best be goin' now, Dallas. They found who they were looking for, and we need to get moving before nightfall." She walked away, not bothering to see if Dallas was following her. She heard muffled talking as she climbed into the jeep, then she saw Dallas head to the jeep. The one man, T-Dog, collected the supplies they'd left for Sophia, then took off towards his group.

Dallas looked down at Laine. "Ya alright, girl?" He asked quietly. Laine nodded, not looking at him. Dallas frowned, nodding slowly. "Well then, lets git out o' here." Laine didn't say anything as Dallas started up the jeep and took off down the road.

_1 hour later_

Dallas huffed as Laine set up the tent. "Girl, how many times do I have t' tell ya. This stake, goes for the this side of the tent, and that stake, goes for that side of the tent."

Laine glared at Dallas and dropped the stakes. "Well then why don't you put the damn thing up? I'm gonna go hunt for some food."

Dallas frowned. "It's gettin a little dark fer that, don't ya think, girl?"

Laine shrugged. "I won't be out long." She didn't wait for a response and headed deeper into the woods. She was probably out there for a good half hour, and she hadn't found a damned thing. Sighing she leaned against a tree, closing her eyes. Flashes of that night ripped through her mind, and she winced. It had been almost a month since those men had found her, attacked her, and used her like a toy. She could still feel their greasy hands all over her. She shivered, opened her eyes and let out a little shriek.

Four walkers stood not too far from her, groaning, their arms reaching out for her. Laine stumbled away from the tree, and turned around to run, only to run face to face into another walker. She gasped and fell to the ground, scrambling back. She wanted to yell for Dallas, but she didn't want to attract more walkers. She jumped up and walked backwards away from the walkers. She went to grab one of her machetes when she tripped over a tree root and hit her head hard on something. She struggled to focus on the walkers, but her head was pounding, her vision going dark. She felt one grab at her ankle. She gasped and swung her machete blindly. She felt it connect, and prayed that it had hit the thing's head. She collapsed, and whimpered when she felt another grab at her. She tried to swing her machete, but her arm felt heavy and sluggish. She heard something behind her, and someone cursed. She heard something whistle close by head, and then everything went dark.

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**There's my story! I hope you guys liked it!**

**Please leave a review for me and let me know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lonely Soul**

_I believe there's a time and a place_

_To let your mind trip and get out of this place..._

* * *

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

* * *

Laine woke up with a pounding headache. She winced and tried to sit up, but was gently pushed back down onto the bed. A bed? Laine frowned and slowly opened her eyes. An older man with gray hair sat next to the bed. Laine's eyes widened and she pushed herself up off the bed with a cry. She quickly took in her surroundings and noticed a few other people in the room. Then she saw the door. She rushed over to the door just as it opened and ran right into Dallas.

"Whoa, hey girl. Calm down. Hey, hey it's ok. It's just yer ol' pal Dallas." He grabbed her shoulders and hugged her to him, petting her head. Laine's heart was pounding in her chest and she was breathing hard. Dallas let her go slowly when he felt her breathing slow down a little. "You ok, girl?" Laine nodded slowly. Dallas smiled at her. "Good. Now let me introduce ya, shall I?" Laine gave Dallas a look, and he laughed. "Git back in that bed girl. Ya hit yer head pretty hard. Ya need to rest." He pushed her over to the bed, everyone in the room watching closely.

That's when Laine noticed others standing in the doorway. She recognized some of them. She frowned and looked up at Dallas, one eyebrow raised. "What happened Dallas?"

Dallas looked at her. "Do ya remember anything?"

Laine looked down and gripped the blanket on the bed. "I was in the woods trying to find something for us to eat, but I didn't find anything. I-I was about to head back when I saw four walkers. They just showed up. I-I didn't hear em or anything. I must've been distracted or…"

Dallas squeezed her shoulder. "It's alright, girl."

"Well I panicked, and I ran the other way, only to run right into another walker. I fell and tried to get away. Then I tripped over a root or something and fell. I hit my head hard on something. Then everything started to get fuzzy. I-I must've passed out."

Dallas nodded, then motioned to the older man behind him. "Laine, this man here is Hershel. He's the one that fixed up yer head."

Hershel nodded at Laine. "You did hit your head pretty hard. Whatever it was that you fell on cut your head. I had to give you a couple stitches, but your fine. Nothing too serious. And you don't have a concussion. But you do need to rest. You'll probably be a little disoriented for couple days."

Laine eyed Hershel, then looked over at Dallas, who just smiled. "We can trust em, girl."

Laine looked back over at Hershel. "Thank you. I'm glad you found me before those things ate me."

"Oh I wasn't the one that found you." Hershel said.

Laine frowned. "Then who did?"

A man stepped farther through the doorway. "I did." Daryl said grudgingly.

Laine glared at him. "You? You were the one that saved me?" Laine looked over at Dallas. "You let that red neck take me here?"

Dallas sighed. "Now Laine, Daryl saved your life. He didn't haveta, but he did. Ye should be grateful. He found me at our little camp and said that he knew someone who could help ya." Dallas reached out and took her hand. "Yer all I got, girl, and ya almost died. I couldn't risk loosin ya."

Laine looked away, her eyes filling up with tears. Dallas sat next to her on the bed and held her. The others in the room looked at one another, feeling slightly uncomfortable and like they were voyeurs. Laine pushed Dallas away and looked over at the others. Everyone was surprised to see no tears.

Dallas cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is Laine. Laine, this is, well, everyone." He then went on to introduce them. The woman with the long dark hair's name was Lori, and her son's name was Carl. Her husband was one of the men they'd met earlier, Rick. The man standing close to them was Shane. Laine got a weird vibe from him. Next was a woman with short hair named Carol. Then there was the asian kid Glenn, who looked like he was possibly around her age. Next to him stood a girl named Maggie, who was one of Hershel's daughters. His other daughter was Beth, who stood next to a boy named Jimmy. Then there was another older man named Dale, who reminded Laine of her own grandfather. Next to him was a blonde woman named Andrea. Then there was T-Dog, who stood next to an older woman named Patricia. Then there was Daryl, who stood like a statue in the corner.

Laine gave him a quick glare, then looked back at Hershel. "Thank you again for helping me."

Hershel nodded. "I'm glad you're doing ok. You should get some rest. Food should be ready soon."

Laine sat back onto the bed. She watched as everyone slowly made their way out of the room. Dallas patted her leg and stood up. Laine grabbed his hand. "Thank you Dallas."

Dallas smiled and squeezed her hand, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Rest up now, girl. Ya need it. I want my feisty fighter back on her feet and healed. Ya hear?" Laine smiled laid down onto the bed. Dallas smiled and left the room. Laine closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.

When Laine woke up, she saw Dallas asleep in an arm chair close to the bed, snoring. Laine smiled. Her smile grew when she saw a plate of food next to the bed. She didn't care that it had gotten cold. She ate it quick and moaned every now and then. She hadn't had a decent meal in so long, and this was just too good. She heard someone laugh and looked up at the doorway. Daryl stood there and smug little smirk on his face. Laine ate the last bite and set the plate down, glaring at Daryl.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So was the food that good?" He said, still smirking. Laine kept glaring at him. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice harsh.

Daryl's smirk was gone, and he narrowed his eyes at her, his face hardening. "I save yer life and you treat me like shit. You should be thankin me."

Laine rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask you to save me, Daryl."

Daryl glared at her. "No you didn't. But you should be grateful I did."

"I should be grateful that I was saved by the asshole that called me a bitch earlier today?"

Daryl scowled. "You were acting like a wild animal. You looked ready to slice us all up."

Laine smirked. "Damn right I was."

"You don't trust us?"

"I don't trust anyone, Daryl."

"You trust that guy." Daryl pointed to Dallas, who Laine had forgotten about once Daryl had stepped into the room. Laine could tell that Dallas wasn't asleep anymore, but pretending to. Laine looked back at Daryl.

"I trust him because he saved me."

Daryl gave her a look.

Laine sighed, narrowing her eyes at Daryl. "You wouldn't understand."

Daryl glared at her. "Then enlighten me."

Laine frowned. "No."

Daryl took a step towards the bed., face hard "Why not?"

Laine looked at him, refusing to be intimidated by him. "Get out." She said, hoping she sounded forceful instead of a pathetic little girl.

Daryl blinked and stood up straighter, looking down at her, but not moving.

Laine frowned. "Get. Out."

"I think you need to leave now." Dallas said, startling both of them.

Daryl glared at both of them then stomped out of the room.

Dallas sat on the bed next to Laine. "You ok, girl?"

Laine nodded slowly. "Yea. Yea I'm fine. It just brought back memories of…"

Dallas took Laine's face in his hands. "Hey girl. They're gone. Those men can't hurt ya no more. You know that."

Laine nodded, closing her eyes. "I was thinking about them, in the woods. That's why those walkers were able to sneak up on me." She opened her eyes. "I was weak, Dallas." She sniffed and gently took Dallas's hands from her face. "I hate how weak they make me feel, even though I know they're gone. I hate it. I hate them. I hate them for what they did to me."

Dallas took Laine's hands into his. "Look at me girl. You are _not _weak. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. You take down walkers like nobody's business." Laine smiled at this. "You helped this ol' man right when he hurt his ankle and cried like a little baby." Laine laughed. "When I found ya with those men, you fought them tooth and nail, even though you were half starved and beaten. You didn't give up. Ya kept on fightin. You are strong, Laine. Don't let yerself, or anybody else, tell ya otherwise."

Laine closed her eyes. "Thank you, Dallas."

Dallas hugged Laine. "I'm here fer ya girl. No matter what." He let her go and stood up, grabbing her empty plate. "Git some rest now, girl."

Laine smiled slightly and laid back down.

Daryl POV

Daryl stood on the other side of the door, eyes wide. If he had known what that girl had been through, he wouldn't have been so tough on her, so mean to her. He felt terrible now. No girl that young should ever have to go through an ordeal like that. No wonder she didn't trust anyone but Dallas. When he heard Dallas getting up to leave he quickly rushed out onto the front porch. Daryl sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he should go easy on the girl from now on. Daryl shook his head and started walking over to his tent.

* * *

**There's chapter 2! Thanks to those who followed and faved my story!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Addicted To Love-TWD Story

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

* * *

**Sorry about the delay guys! But here's the next chapter! (I know it's short, but it's kind of a filler chapter)**

**And thanks to those who reviewed and fav'd and put this on their alerts! :) It means a lot!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING (Only the characters Laine and Dallas)**

* * *

Laine woke up the next morning and was relieved to find that her headache was pretty much gone. She sat up noticed that Dallas wasn't in the room. Laine slowly got out of bed and walked over to the door and opened it a crack, seeing if anyone was around. She didn't see anyone so she walked out of the room and started exploring the house. She saw that a room a couple doors down from the room she was staying in was a bathroom.

Laine sighed in relief and walked in. She walked over the shower and turned the knob. When a blast of water shot from the nozzle she smiled and put her hands under the stream. She quickly stripped and stepped under the warm stream of the shower. Laine took a long, hot shower. She let the hot water wash away everything that had happened ever since the world went to shit. She washed her hair and body multiple times. She wanted to feel clean again.

Laine finally turned the shower off and wrapped herself in a clean white towel. Laine paused. She had forgotten to bring clothes with her, and there was no way she was going to put her dirty clothes back on. Laine sighed and opened the bathroom door slowly. She didn't see anyone so she quickly made her way back to the room she had been in. She opened the door quickly and closed it, sighing in relief. She turned around and let out a little shriek, kicking out and throwing a punch without thought.

Daryl grunted and grabbed Laine's arms, pulling her against him to restrain her. Laine struggled against him. "Would ye stop doin that? I ain't gonna hurt you."

Laine frowned and turned her head to glare up at Daryl. Daryl looked down at her, eyes narrowed. Laine stopped struggling. Both were breathing heavily. Laine could feel Daryl's muscles against her back. The muscles on his arms bulging as he kept her restrained against him. Laine looked down at his arms then back up to his face. Laine saw something flicker in his eyes, and she frowned deeply.

"Hey girl, how are ya-" Dallas stopped as he pushed the door open, eyes wide.

Daryl quickly released Laine and walked past Dallas and out of the room. Laine looked after him, and then eyed Dallas angrily.

Dallas looked from Daryl's retreating form to Laine. "What did I just walk in on?"

Laine stalked up to Dallas. "You told him, didn't you?"

Dallas raised a brow. "What are ya goin on about girl?"

Laine huffed. "Don't play coy with me, Dallas. You fucking told Daryl about what happened to me."

Dallas frowned. "Don't use that language round me, girl. I didn't tell Daryl anything about ye. That's not for me to explain."

Laine eyed him, and saw that he was indeed telling the truth. "Then tell me why I saw something along of the lines of pity pass through Daryl's eyes?"

Dallas shrugged. "Hell girl, I don't know."

Laine sighed. "Whatever. I'm feeling better, I'm clean, and now it's time to get the hell outta here."

Dallas shook his head. "We ain't goin, girl. These people have food, water, shelter. Things we've been needing for a long time."

Laine looked up at Dallas in disbelief. "You want us to stay here? With them?"

Dallas nodded, crossing his arms. "That's exactly what I'm sayin, girl. These people are kind and generous. They helped ye. And I know that here, at this farm, I can protect ye. I can guarantee yer safety here more than I can out there in the woods. I can't take the chances of ye getting hurt again."

Laine looked down and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her damp hair. She looked up at Dallas. "Fine. But if I sense anything out of the ordinary, we're gone. Got it?"

Dallas smiled. "I got it, girl." He walked over to her and ruffled her hair. Laine growled and Dallas laughed, heading to the door. "Get dressed, girl."

Laine looked down at herself. She had forgotten that all she was wearing was a towel. She was surprised it had managed to stay on after her little run in with Daryl. Laine walked over to her bag and picked out a pair of dark jeans and a plain, teal blue tank top. She brushed her hair then put it back into a braid. She put on a pair of thin socks and grabbed her tall leather boots, tugging them on and zipping them up. She grabbed her bag and took out her iPhone and the solar charger.

She left her room and walked over to the front door, stepping outside. It was bright and sunny and warm. She saw a few people sitting by an RV and she headed a little bit away from them, sitting down next to a tree. She set out the solar charger for the IPhone and turned it on. She waited a few minutes then turned on her IPhone. She put in her headphones and turned the music on. She smiled and lay down, closing her eyes. Her smile widened when one of her favorite songs started to play. She startled when she felt someone tap her shoulder lightly. Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up. Standing in front of her was Sophia and the other little kid, Carl. Both were looking at her phone and solar charger. She paused the song and took her headphones out.

"Hey guys, what's up?" She asked them.

Carl pointed to her solar charger. "What's that?"

Laine smiled. "That's a solar charger for my phone. It keeps my phone alive with the light from the sun."

Both kids' eyes widened. "Were you listening to music?" Sophia asked her.

Laine nodded. "I was. It helps keep me from going crazy. And I love music." She saw how both their eyes lit up when she mentioned music. She eyed them, getting an idea. She smiled and stood up. "I bet you two would love to listen to some music." Both children smiled and nodded vigorously. Laine's smile grew. "I'll play my favorite song for you guys. It helps me feel happy when I'm feeling down." She turned the IPhone back on and selected her favorite song. "Now this song is called Shake It Out, and it has a special dance that goes along with the chorus. It goes like this." Laine then proceeded to shake her hands and arms in the air, jumping a little at the same time. Both children laughed and Laine grinned down at them. "Now you two try it." Both kids attempted the dance and Laine laughed along with them.

Laine picked up her IPhone and pressed play, turning up the volume all the way. She began to sing along to the song as both children watched her. She smiled when the part for the dancing started up, and she danced with the kids, still singing to the song. Laine got caught up in the moment and she felt good, she felt free. She danced and sang with the kids and forgot everything that had happened to her. She was genuinely enjoying herself for once. Sophia started to sing along with the song after a while, and Laine smiled down at her. She kind of reminded Laine of her own sister. Laine shook her head, not wanting to think about her sister at the moment. Both Sophia and Carl laughed when Laine did a silly dance move, and she laughed with them.

When the song finally ended, both the children and Laine were still smiling. Laine paused her IPhone and turned back towards the kids. Lori was standing there now, a smile on her face. Laine felt herself begin to blush when she realized that everyone was outside and looking at her and the kids with smiles on their faces. She turned back towards Lori and the kids.

Lori ruffled Carl's hair. "Those were some cool dance moves, honey."

Carl grinned. "Laine taught it to us."

Lori looked up at Laine. "Did she now?"

Carl nodded. "Yea, she has a charger thing for her phone and she can listen to music!"

"That's really nice. We could use a little music around here. Just be a little more careful, honey, you're still healing." Lori kissed her son's cheek, nodded to Laine with a smile on her face and left.

Laine rubbed the back of her neck and picked up her things. "I'll see you two later." She told the kids, grinning at them. She turned and headed back towards the house. She hesitated for a split second when her eyes landed on Daryl, who was leaning up against the side of the house. He was staring at her, the side of his mouth slightly turned up. Laine blushed harder, narrowing her eyes at him, and quickly made her way back inside the house, away from all the curious eyes.

...

Dallas couldn't keep the smile off of his face. He had never seen Laine smile and laugh like that. It felt good, knowing that he had finally made a good decision in staying here with these people, knowing that Laine may finally be happy. Some of the other group walked up to him.

"She doesn't seem as crabby as Daryl made her out to be." The young kid, Glenn, said to him.

Dallas laughed. "Yea, well she's had a tough time ever since the world's gone to shit. This is the first time I've seen her act that happy."

Rick nodded. "She's good with the kids."

Dallas nodded. "Yea, she is. She had a younger sister around Carl's and Sophia's age."

Everyone nodded slowly, knowing that something bad had happened there, but not wanting to pry.

...

Daryl stood off to the corner of his group, listening to them talk to Dallas. He looked back up to the entrance of the house. Maybe Laine wasn't as bad as he originally thought. He frowned, running a hand through his hair, and walked off towards his tent.

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**I hope you guys liked the chapter! And again sorry for the shortness of it.**

**Please review! It fuels my writing fire ;)**

**(Song mentioned in story is by Florence + The Machine)**


	4. Chapter 4

Addicted To Love-TWD Story

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

* * *

**I couldn't help myself and decided to go ahead and post this chapter :)**

**And thanks again to those who reviewed and fav'd and put this on their alerts! :) It means a lot that you guys are enjoying the story!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING (Only the characters Laine and Dallas)**

* * *

_Laine smiled as she successfully chopped off the head of another walker. She had taken down three of the dead, rotting things all on her own. She turned around and saw her sister, Hannah, rolling her eyes. "I get it, you're a badass. Now stop showing off and let's get moving." Hannah said, picking up her pack and throwing in on her back._

_Laine sighed. "You have to get used to killing them, Hannah, or you're never going to get through this new world. You're 14 years old. You can handle it."_

_"That's what you're here for." Hannah said, smirking._

_Laine rolled her eyes. "One of these days, Hannah, you will have to kill them." She followed Hannah as they walked through the forest._

_Hannah turned to her sister. "So where exactly are we going again?"_

_"The CDC, it could be our chance to find shelter and find out what the hell is going on." _

_Hannah frowned. "And what if it isn't?"_

_Laine glanced at Hannah then looked away. "Then we come up with something else."_

_The sisters had been walking through the forest for hours when they finally stumbled upon a creek. Laine grabbed her sister's arm. "Let's take a break and cool off." She nodded towards the creek. _

_Both girls took off their packs and splashed the creek water onto their faces, cleaning themselves off a little._

_"Well, well boys. Look at what we got here."_

_Laine stood up quickly, hands hovering over her machetes. Across the creek stood 4 men, all burly and covered in dirt and blood. Laine narrowed her eyes and stepped in front of her sister. "Can I help you with something? If not, you should really be on your way." Laine said calmly._

_The 4 men laughed. "Feisty one, aren't ya?" One of them asked her, smirking._

_The men started to inch closer and closer to the edge of the creek, and Laine knew what these men wanted by the looks on their faces. Without looking back at her sister, she shoved one of her extra knives into Hannah's hand and whispered, "Run." Without hesitation, her sister ran like the wind, grabbing her pack as she did. The men snarled and leapt into the creek, bounding towards Laine. Laine took off in the opposite direction of her sister. She could hear the men behind her as they yelled at her. She frowned deeply, if these dumb idiots didn't kill her, then the walkers that they were surly attracting would. Laine ran a little farther and looked behind her. All four of the men were behind her. She smiled, grateful that none of them had gone after her sister. She gasped as her foot caught a root and she tumbled to the ground hard, leaving her breathless and in pain. She tried to crawl and stand up, but her body protested. She shrieked when one of the men finally caught up to her and spun her onto her back. "Stupid bitch." The man snarled, then he hit her over the head, and everything went black._

_..._

Laine sighed as she took out her braid and ran her fingers through her now wavy hair. She couldn't help but wonder if her sister was still out there somewhere, still alive. It had been almost a month since that horrible day, when everything went horribly wrong. She stood up, grabbed her machetes and her crossbow and walked out of the room. She saw Dallas talking with the owner of the house, Hershel. She quickly walked past them and out onto the porch. She started off towards the woods when Daryl came up to her. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked her gruffly.

Laine looked up at him and raised her crossbow. "I'm gonna go hunt." She said, turning away from him.

Daryl frowned. "You can't go huntin by yourself."

"Um, I think I can." Laine scoffed.

"You aren't goin out in the woods by yourself." Daryl grabbed her arm and glared down at her.

Laine looked from Daryl's hand gripping her upper arm to Daryl's face, glaring right back. "You can't tell me what I can and can't do, Daryl."

Daryl loosened his grip a little. "I ain't gonna let you back out in the woods alone."

Laine rolled her eyes. "For fuck's sake, I'm not a child. I can take care of myself."

"Sure ya can, that's why I had to save yer ass the other day, because you can 'take care of yourself'." Daryl scoffed.

Laine grabbed Daryl's hand and took it off of her arm. Daryl looked from the girl's determined face, then to the woods. He sighed. "Fine, if you want to go huntin, then I'm comin with ya."

Laine shook her head. "What? No. I can hunt by myself."

"What's going on here?"

Both turned and saw Dallas standing a few feet away from them.

"I want to go hunting, but he won't let me go unless he comes with. I told him that I can take care of myself." Laine told Dallas.

Dallas frowned and eyed Daryl. "I think that's a good idea, girl." He said, looking down at Laine.

Laine's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

Dallas walked up to Laine. "No I ain't girl. The last time you went out huntin, ya got hurt. I'd feel better if I knew you had someone watchin yer back this time."

Laine frowned as she looked up at Dallas. She could see the worry in his eyes and she sighed, defeated. "Fine. Let's head out, redneck."

Daryl glared down at her and stomped off towards the woods in front of her.

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**I hope you guys liked the chapter! I know it's short but I just had to get this out :)**

**Next chapter is full of Laine/Daryl bonding time! Whether they get along or not, you'll just have to find out ;)**

**Please review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Addicted To Love-TWD Story

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

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**Another chapter! Yay! :)**

**And I can't thank you guys enough for reviewing and fav-ing and putting this on their alerts! :) It means a lot that you guys are enjoying the story!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING (Only the characters Laine and Dallas)**

**FanFicGirl10: Thank you for your reviews! You are awesome for reviewing almost all my new chapters :D And don't worry, Daryl will apologize... ;)**

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Laine and Daryl walked side by side in silence, both keeping their eyes and ears trained for something they could hunt down. They had been out in the woods for a good 2 to 3 hours, and Daryl had already caught 4 squirrels and Laine had managed to catch a rabbit, much to Daryl's chagrin.

Laine held up the hefty rabbit, grinning. "Look's like we're having some rabbit stew tonight, redneck."

Daryl glared at her and stomped ahead of her. Laine chuckled under her breath and stuffed the rabbit into a sack and tied it to her belt.

Laine turned and saw that Daryl was several yards ahead of her already, crossbow trained on a squirrel. She shook her head and started towards him when she heard a twig snap. She froze and scanned around herself. Her eyes widened when she saw a walker heading right towards him.

Laine raised her crossbow in one swift movement, aimed, and released the bolt. It hit the walker square in the back of its head. It fell to the ground with a thump, scaring away the squirrel that Daryl was hunting. Daryl turned around and saw the walker laying only a few feet away from him. He looked up at Laine and saw her lower her crossbow.

She started walking towards him. "You ok?" She asked him.

Daryl nodded. "Yea, but it scared our damn dinner away. Bastard." He kicked the walker and stalked off in the direction that the squirrel had scurried off to.

Laine rolled her eyes and followed. "You, know, a simple thank you would suffice. I mean, I did just save your life."

Daryl whirled on her, making her stumble into his chest. "Yer one to be talkin, ya fuckin' hypocritical bitch."

Laine's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Daryl's glare turned deadly, and it made Laine want to cringe away from him. "I saved yer fuckin' life, and you don't thank me, and yet here ya are, tellin me that I should be thank you fer saving me, when I didn't even need to be fuckin' saved. Yer a little hypocritical midget."

Laine couldn't help the burst of laughter that erupted from her throat. Daryl grabbed her arms. "What the hell ya laughing at?"

Laine shook her head, still giggling like a crazy person. "You called me a midget. I have honestly never been called that before." She finally controlled her laughter and looked up at Daryl, sighing. "I am thankful that you saved me that night, Daryl. I really am. And I'm sorry I've been a complete bitch to you. It's just... I've been through a lot of shit lately."

Daryl looked down at Laine, and she could see the shock in his eyes. "Fuck. I'm sorry for bein an ass. I know how hard o' time you've had..."

Laine looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Daryl looked off into the trees and ran a hand through his hair. "I overheard you talkin to yer friend, Dallas, about what happened to you, with those men... I didn't hear every detail, but..."

Laine looked away, nodding slowly. "But you understood the gist of it." Daryl nodded. Laine sighed and played with her belt loop. "Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone found out what had happened to me. But since you do know something, I want to tell you the whole story. That way if people start wondering about me, you'll at least know what's the truth."

Daryl looked at her. "Alright."

Laine nodded. "It was about 2 weeks after the breakout had started, and a week after they napalmed Atlanta. My sister and I, were moving around together, not really hanging with anybody because we didn't really trust anyone. We were out in the middle of the woods somewhere, and I was teaching her how to hunt. She already knew a little; our dad taught us, but I wanted her to be really good at it, in case... I case something happened to me and she needed to fend for herself."

"You're were a smart sister." Daryl said.

Laine smiled half-heartedly. "Yea. I just wanted her to be safe. So while I was showing her how to skin animals, these 4 men come out of nowhere, and they were big. I knew that I had to get Hannah out of there. I gave her a set of knives and told her to run. She already had her bow and small pistol on her, but I wanted to make she had something else, more things to protect her. I ran the opposite way my sister had, and all of the men ran after me. I tripped and they caught up to me... They had for about a week, maybe. I'm not sure, really. That time was pretty much a blur. But they tortured me, did things to me to try to break me. They would have, to, if it weren't for Dallas. He had been following 2 of the men when he stumbled upon them one day, and when he saw what they were doing to me, he killed them all."

Daryl let out a deep breath. "Jesus."

Laine looked up at him. "Yea. He said the moment he saw me, he said all he could think about was his own daughter, and that he had to save me, because if it were his own daughter, he would hope that someone would have saved her."

Daryl frowned. "What happened to his daughter?"

"She died 4 years ago. Drunk driver."

Daryl sighed and shook his head. "Damn."

"Yea. So I'm sorry if I have a hard time trusting your group. A lot of things have happened."

Daryl nodded. "I get it." He bent down and pulled the bolt out of the walker's head, wiped it on his jeans, and handed it to Laine. Laine smiled and tucked it into her bag. "What happened to your sister?"

Laine frowned. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since that day. I pray every day that she made it to somewhere safe. We were headed to the CDC. Thought that maybe they would have some answers."

"We went to the CDC. It was a dead end. Nothing there." Laine looked down, trying to keep the tears from forming in her eyes. Daryl put a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she's still out there, looking fer you. You're strong, I'm sure she is too."

Laine smiled up at him. "Thank you Daryl."

He nodded and started to walk off. "Come on now, we should be headin back. I'm sure yer dyin to brag to everyone about how yer the one that caught the rabbit."

Laine chuckled, following him. "I would never do that, redneck." Daryl stopped and turned to face her, eyebrow raised. Laine just smiled and walk past him.

"Hey." Laine turned around at the sound of Daryl's voice. "Thanks fer saving me today."

Laine grinned, and both started to head back to the farm.

* * *

_::There is a ghost deep in my throat_

_Shoving it down, speak and you choke_

_Every fire, sharpens the flood_

_Throbbing and wild_

_Stained in blood::_

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**I hope you guys liked the chapter! I know I had a fun time writing it :)**

**song lyrics are Dirty and Clean-Stephanie Schneiderman (The unofficial theme for this story btw, along with another song you'll find out later)**

**Please review! It means so much!**


	6. Chapter 6

Addicted To Love-TWD Story

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

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**I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY GUYS! Here's the new chapter!**

**Thanks for the reviews and everything!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING (Only the characters Laine and Dallas)**

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Laine blew a stray strand of hair out of her face as she gutted the rabbit. She was starting to get hungry and she worked as quickly as she could without butchering everyone's dinner. She was looking forward to eating the rabbit stew. She had told the women when she arrived back to the farm what she had brought back for dinner. Lori and Carol seemed delighted by the prospect of eating something other than squirrel.

Laine paused in her ministrations when one of the girls that lived here on the farm, Maggie, walked up to her. "I hear that you caught a rabbit." She said, smiling down at Laine.

Laine looked at the girl and held up the skinned animal in her hands. "You're looking at it."

Maggie made a face and tried to smile. "Are you gonna cook it?"

Laine laughed sarcastically. "Hell no. I hate having to cook."

Maggie pursed her lips. "Ok, then. Well thank you for catching it."

"Yep." Laine said, going back to gutting the animal.

Maggie rolled her eyes and walked away.

Laine sighed and looked up, watching Maggie's retreating form. She didn't want to be rude, but she still didn't entirely trust these people either. She still didn't even truly trust Daryl. He was still a pain in her ass. As soon as they had arrived on the farm, Daryl had completely ignored her, which pissed Laine off a little. He had been decent enough with her earlier when they were hunting, they had even gotten along. But now he was back to acting like an ass. Laine huffed as she finally finished gutting the rabbit. She rinsed the rabbit in the bucket of water next to her.

She stood up and headed to the house. She was stopped by Rick.

"I just wanted to thank you again for goin out with Daryl earlier. You didn't have to, but you did."

Laine grinned. "No problem." She held up the rabbit as a goodbye and headed up the steps to the house. She walked into the kitchen and put the rabbit in a bowl.

Carol turned to her and smiled. "Thank you, dear."

Laine smiled. "Um, do you need help with anything?" Laine motioned to the pile of vegetables and spices laid out on the counter.

Carol laughed and shook her head. "No, I have everything under control. Lori's helping me too. But thank you."

Laine smiled, relieved, and walked out of the kitchen. She found Dallas talking to Dale. They were laughing about something. Laine felt uncomfortable interrupting them and headed into the room her stuff was still in. She went through her bag and pulled out a pair of shorts and a sports bra. She quickly changed into them and grabbed a too-big button up flannel to throw on and left it unbuttoned.

She didn't pay attention to any of the stares she was receiving from the others and walked out far into the spacious field. She came up close to the edge of the forest and stopped. She stretched, working out kinks, then took off the flannel and laid down onto the hard ground and started to do crunches. She did several sets of different versions of crunches then moved on to doing push ups. She did several sets of those and moved on to her legs, doing several different workout techniques. When she was finished she stretched again, loosening her muscles so they wouldn't be tense.

She sighed and laid down, using her flannel as a pillow. She stared up into the sky, which was starting to turn pink, orange and purple, signaling that the sun was setting. Laine laid there for a long time, it seemed. The light in the sky was almost gone, and Laine sat up slowly.

"You gonna come back to the farm or what?"

Laine sat up quickly and saw Daryl standing there. Without much light, it was hard to see much, but Laine figured he might just be blushing, what with the way he was standing several feet away from her with his hands thrown awkwardly in this pockets. Laine picked her flannel up and put it on, not buttoning it up.

"I was just about to head back." She told him.

"What were ya doin way out here anyway?" He asked her.

Laine motioned to her sports bra. "What does it look like? I was working out."

Daryl frowned. "Why?"

Laine shook her head. "Need to stay at least somewhat fit. Stay in shape and keep myself strong. How else will I survive?"

Daryl laughed. "You really think that's gonna help? Wearing no clothes and no weapon? What if a walker came at ya while you were out here? Yer too far away from the rest of us, you would've been dead by the time we made it to ya."

Laine rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself, Daryl. And I don't need someone to come to my rescue every time something bad happens to me. I'm not a fuckin damsel in distress."

Daryl shook his head. "If you want to not be the damsel in distress, then stop pouting like a little brat. Prove to yerself and the others that you cin take care o' yerself."

Laine sighed and looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "Are you serious? I do _not _pout like a little brat. And why do I have to prove myself to you anyway? I can take care of myself and that's all that matters. I don't need you, or anyone else to tell me otherwise! I didn't ask for any of this-" Laine stopped when Daryl grabbed both of her arms.

"Would you shut the hell up?" He asked.

Daryl watched her as she stood there, body tense. For being a tiny little thing, she sure was built good. She didn't have big muscles or anything, but she was definitely fit. Her stomach was flat and very, very lightly defined. Her arms were also lightly toned, along with her tanned legs. Daryl growled quietly to himself. The girl frustrated him to no end, why was he getting turned on just by thinking about her muscles?

"Fer fuck's sake, come on, then. Food's ready and everyone wants yer scrawny little ass up there at the house."

Laine glared at him for a moment, a little shocked and confused about what just happened. She huffed and walked off, flipping him the bird as she did so.

Daryl shook his head and followed close behind.

...

Laine walked into the house and quickly changed into a plain white tank top and threw on the flannel with it, quickly buttoning it up. She pulled her hair back into a bun and frowned at herself in the mirror. Why was she letting Daryl Dixon push all of her buttons? Before the dead started walking, she was a very calm and patient person. But now almost everything and everyone pissed her off. Especially Dixon. He seemed to push all the right buttons, making her angrier the longer he talked to her. She really needed to collect her bearings and start keeping her distance from him. Then maybe she could be the person she used to be. The person she loved being.

Laine took one last look in the mirror in front her. Accepting the fact that she looked decent enough, she walked out of the room, preparing herself mentally for the big dinner.

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**I hope you guys liked the chapter!**

**Please review! It means so much!**


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